Page 20 - Research 1.0

A COMMON MISCONCEPTION is that evolution should lead to some
particular trait, such as a large brain. There is no "goal'
to evolution; not speed, not strength, not intelligence and
certainly not 'humanity'. Evolution is about one thing:

survival. Evolution occurs at the molecular level. In every
living species, mutations copy errors) occur with every cell
division and replication Those mutations are the raw material
for the genetic variation we see in every population of
organisms. It is the then current environment which wields
the pruning shears, favoring those mutations that best suit
the organism for that environment and apes were very well
suited for their forest environment.

Millions of years ago, when forests covered much of Africa,
those forests harbored 30 or more species of apes, but as the
climate of east Africa changed becoming dryer, the forests
diminished and grasslands expanded. Competition among apes
species increased and many went extinct.

One population of apes that, as the forests retreated, opted
for life on the open savanna, stood on two feet and faced
different evolutionary pressures that set their descendants
on an evolutionary trajectory that culminated in us. The
populations of apes that stayed in the forests became today's

chimps, bonobos, orangs and gorillas.

The modern human brain is about 2% of total body mass, yet is
requires fully 20% of total caloric consumption. I think you
can understand that for most animals it is a daily challenge

to consume enough calories just to survive, and the energy
demands of a larger brain would be more of a burden than an
asset. It is also the case that the larger human brain
requires that babies be born at a less advanced stage of
neural development placing an additional burden primarily on
the mother. Japanese researchers have compared brain scans of
baby macaques, chimps and human children and found that brain